Cut Your Refrigerator Energy Usage And Costs

15 Tips For Refrigerators, Fans And Chillers

Refrigeration is one of the biggest energy wasters in the home and it is very possible that you would be surprised if you could single out your refrigerator energy usage of the total sum. However, there are many simple things you can do to save on the cycling of your refirgerator while saving money and reducing CO2 emissions.

How To Reduce Your Refrigerator Energy Usage

Consider implementing some of the following no or low cost energy saving strategies:

Keep your refrigerator doors closed! Don't hold the door open looking to see what's inside or trying to decide what you want to eat. Every time you open the refrigerator door you lose 30% of the already chilled air inside the refrigerator. Make up your mind first.

Keep a list of contents on the front of the refrigerator to help you remember what's in there. An erasable board is great. That way when something is gone you strike it off the list.

Keep doors open in all rooms cooled by a central air conditioning system.

Keep freezers fully stocked. A fully stocked freezer is significantly more energy efficient than an empty freezer. If you don't have enough food, fill it with newspaper, ice trays, cold paks etc.

Defrost freezers at regular intervals. The build up of frost and ice decreases the efficiency of the freezer and increases its energy consumption.

If possible place the refrigerators and freezers away from direct sunlight, stoves/ovens or other heat sources.

Make certain the freezer temperature is correct. If you set it lower than needed (even 1 degree) you can raise your operating costs by 2-4%.

Make sure your refrigerator has sufficient air flow around it so that the condenser doesn't overheat.

Energy Savings Tips For Fans

Fans are an effective alternative to costly air-conditioning in certain situations. Research demonstrates that moving air with a fan can have the same effect on comfort as lowering the temperature by 5F. And many people prefer having the hot, stuffy, outdoor air replaced by cooler, fresher, outdoor air creating a win/win situation for everyone.

Here are some tips for how to optimize cooling using fans:

Use ceiling fans in homes to circulate the air in the summer and to move warm air down from the ceiling in the winter. Note: Many ceiling fans can be operated in reverse in the winter to push warm air down from the ceiling to the occupied spaces.

For restrooms that exhaust constantly, disable the air supply and let the space be conditioned by return air drawn in by the exhaust fan.

Interlock restroom exhaust fans with the lights and control the lights with an occupancy sensor/switch combination so they operate only when the room is in use.

Operate kitchen exhaust hoods only when the cooking surfaces are actually in use.

Purchase vent hoods that introduce a percentage of air as untreated outside air instead of exhausting 100% of conditioned air from the space.

Install a thermostat to control the attic fan so that it operates only when the temperature is ten or more degrees above ambient.

Turn off kitchen, bath, and other ventilating fans within 20 minutes after you are done cooking or bathing to retain heated air.

Check auto fan belts regularly and change them when they become cracked, worn or oil soaked.

Energy Savings Tips For Chillers

On a centrifugal chiller, if the condenser water temperature is decreased from 2F to 3F, the system efficiency can increase by as much as 2-3%. Conversely, if the chilled water temperature on this chiller is raised from 2F to 3F, the system efficiency can be increased from 3-5%.